Locking lever



A. G. STEPHENSON.

, LOCKING LEVER.

APPLICATION man oEc.5. 191's.

Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. G. STEPHENSON.

' 'LOCK-ING LEVER. APP'ucAnoN nuzo 0am. 1919.

Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2'.

A. nggn awwmm 1TED ss ATENT EPIC-E. I

.AXEL G. STEPHENSON, or DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF To sAMUEL j BEIDELMAN, or DENVER, COLORADO. I r e LOCKING LEVER.

Application filed December 5, 1919. Serial No. 342,662.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, AXEL G. STEPHENSON,

a citizen ofthe United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locking Levers;

and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of-the invention, such as "will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference. marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. V v

My invention relates to improvements in levers, and while particularly well adapted for use asza reverse lever for locomotives, it is evident that it may be advantageously employed all relations where it is important that the lever be securely'locked in the adjusted position.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, the latch which engages the notched sector or segment has been held in place only by the pressure or tension of the spring which automatically throws it into cooperative engagement with the notches of the sector. In my improvement the handle which is operatively connected with the lever bar and the latch rod, is provided with a downward extension which, when the latch is in engagement with the sector positively locks the latch from disengagement therefrom.

Having briefly outlined my improvement,

I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a lever equipped with my improvement, the same being shown in connection with the ordinary notched sector or segment.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line Fig. 1, viewed in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a view of the construction shown in Fig. 1-, but looking at right angles to the last named viewn Fig. '4.- is a view. similar tofFig. 1, but showing the latch in the disengaged or unlocked position.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 55 Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view looking at right angles to Fig. 4.

Fig. 7. is a detail, showing the manner of connecting the handle 13 to link 9.

The same reference characters indicate the same partsin'all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate the lever bar, which is pivotally connected atits lower extremity, as shown :at 6',where a stationary support (not shown) should be located. The notched segment 7 is arranged suitable proximitv .to the leverbar'andin cooperative relation with the latch 8, which is con-' nected with the lowerextremity of a r0d.9,

the upper extremity of'the rod being pivotally connected, as shown at 10 and 10' (F ig. -7), with a handle 12, for operating the latch rod. The part 13 of this handle extends upwardly adjacent the lever bar,"

while projections let, extending approximately at right angles to the'part 13, are

pivotally connected with the lever baron opposite sides, as shown at 1'5. By virtue of this handleconnection with the rod 9, the

latch '8 may be lifted from engagement with the notches of the sector, by moving the part 13 of the handle towardthe lever bar.

The position of the parts when the latch is disengaged is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6.

My improvement consists in the handle 12 with a part 16, which extends in the direction of the sector-7, and its lower extremity, or that nearer the sector, is

adapted to engage a stop 17 formed on the providing rod 9 when the latch is in engagement with the notched'edge of the sector, thus positively preventing the upward movement of the latch except by the operation of the handle 12. -As shown-in the drawing, the lower" extremity of the part 16 is provided with projections 18, which extend on oppositesides of the lever bar and engagethe stop 17 from above, and a pin 19 from below,

whereby the lower extremity of the part 16 is engaged on. opposite sides by theiparts V 17 and 19. The element 19 may consist of a single pin passed through an opening in the lever bar and secured so that it'will' engage the respective projections 18. It

will'be understood that this pin maybe dispensed with, since the main object is to secure the rod 9 against accidental upward movement, and this object "will be accomplished by the engagement of the lower extremity of the part 16 with the stop 17 of the rod.

The lever bar is provided with a block 20, which is bifurcated to engage the lever bar to which it is suitably secured, as shown at 21. The lower extremity of a rod 22 is secured to the latch 8, while its upper extremity engages an opening 23 in the block 20. A spiral spring 24: is coiled around this rod between the latch and the block and is under tension to force the latch into cospring correspondingly compressed. In this event the relative position of the various parts is shown in Fig. 4t. As soon as the handle is released, the action of the spring on the latch moves the latter together with the'l'atch rod 9 and the other parts'connected therewith into the position shown in Fig. 1.

I claim:

1. The combination with a lever bar, a handle, a'spring actuated latch and operat ing device for the latter, comprising a connecting link between said handle and said latch, whereby motion is transmitted from said handleto said latch to move the latter against the tension of said spring, and means handle is in its inoperative position.

2. The combination with a lever bar, a handle, a spring actuated latch and operating means lor the latter comprising a rigid connecting link between said handle and said latch for moving the latter against the tension of said spring and means for locking the latch in operative position comprising a stop on said link, and means on said handle interposed into the path of said stop when the handle is in'its inoperative position. 7

The combination with a lever bar, a handle, a spring actuated latch and operating means for the latter comprising a rigid connecting link between said handle and said latch for moving the latter against the tension of said spring, means for locking the latch in operative position, comprising a stop on said link, cooperating means on said handle interposed into the path of said stop when the handle is in its inoperative posi tion and means whereby said locking means is rendered ineffective upon movement of said handle towards operative position.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. AXEL G. STEPHENSON. 

